2 The Truth
by Dr Vanya
Summary: The Doctor and his new companion Haze travel to Roswell in 1947 to see the most famous crash in UFO history. But there may be more going on than history remembers......
1. Part 1

The Truth

By Vanya

Part 1

Dawn was breaking on a small desert town. The early morning silence was broken by a mysterious wheezing, groaning noise as a strange wind kicked up the dust and a blue police box slowly began to appear on a street corner. Fully materialised the doors swung open to reveal a tall man in a suit accompanied by a short, purple haired girl in glasses. The Doctor drew a deep breath.

"Here we are," he announced, "Roswell, New Mexico, Earth. It's 6:30 on the morning of June 16th, 1947. The day it happens."

Haze McCall breathed a sigh of amazement, "Incredible, but why so early?"

"I wanted to get a good parking space without attracting too much attention. Beside you don't just come here for the show, enjoy a slice of 1940's life, breathe in the atmosphere, eat the food, drink the coffee meet the people," he put his arm to stop Haze as she went for the door, "But not like that."

"What's wrong now?"

"I don't want to sound like your dad, but you can't go out like that. This is 1940's America, there are certain, conventions, that need to be observed."

--

The Doctor directed Haze to the epic wardrobe housed within his ship. Despite her familiarity with aliens nothing could have prepared her for her first trip inside the TARDIS. She had heard talk of the blue box that always appeared along with the Doctor, she had talked to people who had seen it appear and disappear, but no one who had been inside was willing to betray its secret. Without the slightest clue of what to expect she had stepped though the doors and found herself in the giant control room, bigger than anything housed in the box should be. She had gasped in amazement as she wondered round the room, hugging the wall as if to see if she could find some clue as to how it all fitted in. The Doctor had looked on in amusement, everyone who stepped on board never failed to be taken aback by the magnificence of his ship, even Haze, who could claim a greater knowledge of him than most who had traveled aboard the TARDIS, was sufficiently stunned. So much had run through her mind, but everything she was feeling had manifested itself as a single word, "How?"

"Now that would be telling," he had replied with a mischievous grin, "Come on, much more fun if you don't know how the trick's done. Now, we need a destination."

Without a moments hesitation Haze replied, "Roswell, 1947, I want to see the crash, I want to learn the truth."

--

Having spent the majority of the last five years living in a camper van Haze could not fail to be impressed with the size and range of the Doctor's wardrobe, a huge room with multiple levels, with outfits neatly sorted into eras. She emerged having selected a stylish 40's dress and hat, both in navy blue and had even styled her hair appropriately. When she returned to the control room she saw the Doctor had also paid a visit to the wardrobe, his normal suit was now topped off with a brown, wide brimmed fedora. He smiled when he saw her.

"Much better, you look fantastic! And you've got the hat, I love hats, used to wear them all the time, stopped around the time of the millennium. Maybe they're due for a comeback." He went on at great length of all the great hats he had worn over the years, stopping when he caught a severe look from Haze.

"Finished?"

The Doctor thought for a moment, "Yes, all done."

"OK then Doctor, shall we depart?"

"Indeed we shall Haze McCall, indeed we shall."

The two of them stepped out of the TARDIS and into the town.

--

Before gaining notoriety from the the UFO incident Roswell was just like any other town in America. There were shops, banks and diners, and not a single piece alien themed merchandise in sight. It was her first trip back in time and Haze walked around, amazed to be walking in another era, another world. But the thing that amazed her most was how normal things appeared to be. They were in Roswell on the day a spaceship would crash to Earth, and the folks in town were going about their business as if it was any other day, which right now was all that it was. They wouldn't even learn of the crash until weeks later when the recovery was due to begin. Taking the Doctor's advice Haze guided them into a diner, just opening for the morning crowd. They ordered coffee and, feeling the need for breakfast, Haze ordered herself the 'special' omelet, which turned out not to be all that special. Then they hit their fist hiccup of their travels.

"What do you mean you don't have any money?" Haze spoke in a hushed voice so as not attract the attention of the waitress.

"What? You think I have the right currency for every country and time period in my pocket?"

"Well you should! What did you think we were going to do? I haven't even seen a dollar in years!"

"I don't know, psychic paper? Tell them we're..."

"No! You're going back to the TARDIS and you're going to fine _something _we can use to pay for this."

Deciding it was better not to argue the Doctor donned his fedora and slipped out of the diner. Haze flagged down the waitress and ordered more coffee, it was time before free refills were common, but she was sure the Doctor could cover it.

"Where's you're man going, hun?" asked the waitress as she served the coffee.

"He left his wallet in the car, but not to worry, I'm not going anywhere. And he's not 'my man', we're just traveling together. He's more like my driver."

The waitress nodded and went about her business while Haze continued to drink. It was good coffee, strong and bitter. She could have happily stayed there all day, enjoying every second of being in another time. Her drifting mind was brought back by a voice from behind her.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

Haze looked round to see a young man dressed in a light gray business suit with neatly parted hair and round glasses. He could be considered hansom, but she decided that he looked more like the sort of man your mother would like you to end up with.

"Yes?" she replied, smiling pleasantly.

"I don't wish to intrude, but I couldn't help overhear about your financial situation. I was wondering if I could be permitted to settle your check?"

"A true gentleman," _this really is another era_ she thought_, _"You may indeed. What's your name?"

"Clark, ma'am, Anderson Clark."

"Haze McCall," she said instinctively, but when he seemed confused she quickly corrected herself, "Hazel."

"Pleased to meet you Ms. McCall." he said as they shook hands.

"Clark, you know, you remind me of another Clark..." Haze smiled a mischievous smile.

"Oh, you mean Superman?"

Haze was stunned for a moment and the smile dropped, _1947, that early?_ "Yes, my hero." _Good comeback._

--

Anderson Clark had settled the check and now walked through the streets of Roswell with Ms Hazel McCall on his arm.

"So tell me Ms McCall, what brings you here? You sound like you're from Scotland, how did you end up in Roswell?"

"I'm still trying to work that out myself. You're right, I'm from Edinburgh, but I met this man, the Doctor, my friend from the diner, and now I'm traveling with him."

"That's incredible, so you two are seeing the world, where else have you been?"

"To be honest this is it, we came straight here."

Clark laughed, "Get out, anywhere in the world and you come to Roswell? We're in the middle of nowhere."

"Don't be too sure, I'm sure important things will happen very soon..."

The words hung in th air as they arrived at the bank where Clark worked.

"Goodbye Ms McCall" he said, kissing here gently on each cheek, "Maybe you would come back for lunch?"

"I'd like that, goodbye Mr. Clark."

Just before entering he spotted something on the street corner, "Hey, we've got one of those police boxes now, maybe things are changing."

--

"General, you need to see this."

"What is it lieutenant?"

"Sir, we have a contact, the new scanning equipment picked it up within the last hour."

"Show me."

The lieutenant indicated to the screen. It showed a disc shaped craft sitting just outside of the Earth's atmosphere. While the rest of the world got by with basic radar the Walker Air Force base was serving as the testing ground for an advanced new system, it's origin known only to the highest ranking personnel.

"It's watching us lieutenant, not doubt about it."

"Should we use the weapon sir?"

"Not yet, not while it's just sitting there, we don't want to create an unnecessary scene. And I'm not convinced that thing even works. If it comes for us we have no choice, but for now we just watch."

"Very good sir."

"I'll be in my office, keep me updated of every movement that ship makes. And have Erik report to me as soon as he signs in."

--

"Having fun?" Haze jumped as the Doctor emerged from the other side of the parked TARDIS.

"How long have you been there?"

"Not long, just didn't want to interrupt, so how are you enjoying the 40's?"

"Very much, I love it here, it's a completely different world."

"Excellent, but you can't keep him you know."

"Wasn't planning on it, he was a gentleman and I would like to repay him."

"Good, but seriously, you're traveling in the past there are certain rules. We're dealing with a well known event, a fixed point in history. There were no witnesses to the crash, and when you're dealing with an event like this you can't trust people to keep quiet twenty or forty years down the line."

"Not a problem, I just want one night of 1940's fun."

"I'm glad to hear it. I've found you some spending money," from within his coat he produced two small, velvet bags, "One has diamonds, one has gold dust."

"Diamonds? You'd just give me a bag of diamonds?"

"Certainly, they're not valuable elsewhere in the universe you know. I've been to one world where the pressure was so high that diamonds were everywhere, but you could live like king on a lump of coal, all those diamonds, no fossil fuel."

"We'll leave the gold dust though, might be a little hard to explain to a jewelers. Why do you even have gold dust in the first place?"

"It comes in handy from time to time."

"And when was the last time you needed it?"

"About twenty years ago."

--

Vowing to ration herself, Haze exchanged on of the smaller diamonds in the local pawn shop, feeling jewelers would ask too many questions. "You always get short changed in those places." the Doctor had cautioned her, but she didn't care. She had more than enough to get he through the day, and now she knew there was a planet of diamonds they could pop over to any time. Flush with money she was able to take full advantage of everything that was available in Roswell, which was very little. She met Anderson Clark for lunch and again once the bank had closed. They enjoyed a pleasant evening together, dinner, followed by a long walk and eventually a drink in a local bar. As they stepped out of the bar found the Doctor waiting for them. "It's time."

--

Haze and Anderson said their farewells and parted company. It was dark and the town was falling asleep. The Doctor directed them to the base of the town's water tower. "Ladies first," he said, inviting he to climb the ladder. Soon they were both settled on the top, waiting. Haze produced a digital camera from the small handbag she was carrying.

"Do you mind?" she inquired, switching it it on and selecting the video feature. This would be her third close encounter in as many days and she was going to make sure she caught it.

"Go ahead," replied the Doctor, a little to her surprise, "It's not as if the video will change history. For starters no one will _actually _believe you have a video of the Roswell crash. People of your time have enough trouble believing in the aliens they can see, they'll never be won over with a sixty year old video on a digital camera that hasn't been invented yet.

Haze nodded, "Fair point." She prepared to record anyway, even if it was just for her own record.

--

Time passed

--

"So when is this actually happening?" Haze asked, yawning. It was now passed midnight and well into the a.m.

"Look, I don't have the exact time, all I know is..."

The Doctor's voice trailed off as a thin bolt of pale green light cut through the night, originating from a point somewhere in the desert. It flicked and weaved like lightning, shooting upwards to strike the sky He produced a pair of glasses from within his coat and stared intently at the bolt. "This isn't right," he began to mutter, "That shouldn't be there." Haze was about to ask him what he meant when it happened. It started as a flash in the sky, but a heavily damaged, disc shaped ship streaked past their field of view, reigning debris down on the fields and eventually crashing in the desert further than they could see. After completing her video of the event Haze turned to the Doctor.

"What's wrong? What shouldn't be here?"

"That beam, it was disruptor technology, but that's impossible! You don't invent them for centuries."

"Maybe it was alien of origin? Groups have been reverse engineering alien technology for years, I'm sure of it."

"No, I know my tech, disruptor technology was very human in design, you lot are good with weapons, but there's no way a 1940's installation should have one. It would be like Horatio Nelson attacking the French with a cruise missile, and trust me, he didn't."

"Well Doctor, I think this warrants a closer look."

"Haze, would you like to accompany me in breaking into a top secret military installation?"

End of Part One.


	2. Part 2

The Truth

By Vanya

Part 2

Roswell, New Mexico, Earth.

June 16th, 1947

09:03am

"You wanted to see me general?"

"Yes, take a seat Erik," The general indicated to the vacant chair in his office without looking up, "What's the status on the weapon?"

"I believe it to be fully operational, sir. With the right tools and access to the right materials I should be able to replicate the mechanisms, but the power sauce is the real problem. It's like nothing I've ever seen before, and without being able to replicate it then replicating the weapon would be impossible."

"So you think it's ready to fire?"

"I believe it is sir."

"Really, then why were none of our boys able to fire it in simulations."

"You were using targets sir, simple objects. I believe it's designed to work against ships, by disrupting electronic systems, destroying the enemy from the inside out, something no amour can shield against."

"Well son tonight could be your lucky night. The scanner's picked up a UFO in orbit and it appear to be watching us. If we need to take action then your weapon may be the best option."

"I look forward to seeing it in operation, sir."

"As do I son, as do I."

--

June 17th, 1947

01:26am

The Doctor sprang to his feet and athletically descended the ladder, followed closely by Haze. They sprinted through the deserted streets of Roswell and burst into the TARDIS. With the doors safely closed behind them the Doctor dashed round the control panel, flicking switches.

"So what's the plan, Doctor?" Haze asked excitedly.

"Right, we can't just materialise on the base, too many men with guns who ask too many questions. Besides, we don't want to give them another alien ship to look at do we? No. The only way into a base like that is through the front door. You see, the average air force base isn't equipped to deal with an alien ship, they can shoot it down, still need to look into that by the way, but they won't have the staff on site for an in depth analysis of what they find, and that Haze, is out way in."

--

Erik viewed the ship, the weapon worked as he predicted, but he hoped the effects hadn't been too devastating, a ship like this could still yield secrets.

"What's the status on the crew?" he asked the base's doctor, brought in to oversee the recovery of any bodies.

"One died on impact, a second is in a bad way, but the third should live."

"Autopsy the dead one, do what you can with the others."

"Right away sir."

As the doctor went about his duties Erik began to shortlist the team he would require to go over the ship.

--

"I've shifted the TARDIS into a temporal orbit, we appear to be in the same place, but time's passing much quicker outside so I can keep an eye on the communications." as he talked the Doctor continued to run around the control room, eventually coming to a stand still in front of the screen. He beckoned Haze to join him. "We're a few years off an officially sanctioned body of alien specialists, in this country anyway, so they're putting out a call for civilians with appropriate skills. They seem to have an engineer on site, a good one by the sounds of it, he looks like he know his stuff, probably the only one there to work with alien technology before. He's looking for a materials specialist, a mathematician, a linguist and a marine biologist."

"A marine biologist?"

"Why not? They're already familiar with strange physiology and unusual squishy bits, in fact that could be our way in. He's requesting the others by name, but he's asked for a marine biologist from the nearest academic institution that can provide one, which would be the University of Houston." he grinned as he explained his plan, "But with a clever intercept they're not going to get the message and we're free to take they're place. I've got us the invitation, I've got us the passwords, in short, I have got us into Roswell airbase to take a look at the crash. What do you think?"

Haze thought for a second, "Well it'll have to do, it's the only plan we've got."

The Doctor came to a standstill, the grin vanishing from his face, "There's no pleasing some people is there?"

Haze just smiled back cheekily and they both headed for the door.

--

_This is it._ Haze couldn't believe it, but they were on their way to Walker Air Base, on the outskirts of Roswell to investigate the most famous crash in UFO history. To really sell their story they had acquired a motor car, courtesy of Mr. Anderson Clark and were now driving along a dusty desert road. The base loomed closer and closer and soon the barriers and the guards could be seen. The Doctor came to a stop just before the main gate as a guard approached.

"Hello there son," he said, adopting a perfect Texan accent, "Professor Donald Hammond, University of Houston, I believe you boys wanted me to take a look at something." He waved the psychic paper, turning it into ID to corroborate his story.

"Thank you, sir," replied the guard, "Who's the girl?"

"This is miss Hazel McCall, I though I'd bring along my best and brightest student to assist me."

"Howdy y'all." Haze's accent was less than perfect.

"Please don't do that," the Doctor whispered in here ear, _every single time!_ He turned to the guard, "Don't mind her, her family's from Scott-Land, but she loves this country and she's a top notch assistant."

"That's right." She let her natural accent return and smiled as sincerely as she could.

Satisfied the guard turned his attention back the the Doctor, "Everything seems to be in order professor Hammond, all I need now is the pass phrase."

"Sky-Hook."

"Proceed."

--

The gates were opened and the Doctor steered the motor car onto the base and was directed to a parking spot. From there the two of them were escorted into one of the smaller buildings which had been set up for conferences. A group of academics milled around the room, waiting for things to begin. They were greeted by a bald man as they entered.

"Professor Hammond I presume," he said shaking the Doctor's hand, who nodded in response, "Dr. Jean Michaud, linguistics, University of San Fransisco. Who's your companion?" Michaud stared intently at Haze as she hung up her hat.

"Hazel McCall, trusted assistant." she said with a half mocking glance towards the Doctor.

"Charmed," Michaud took her hand and gently kissed it, "If you don't mind me saying young lady, that is quite unusual hair."

She froze for a moment, purple hair dye clearly wasn't fashionable amongst the young yet. "Oh, there was an unfortunate incident involving a squid."

He seemed happy with the explanation, "I never realised marine biology could be so, hazardous."

"So," the Doctor surveyed the room, "Who else have we got?"

Michaud indicated to a middle aged man with graying hair and a large mustache on the other side of the room, "That's Dr Roberts, a mathematician from Colorado, Krebs, the materials specialist is on his way, should be here any time now, that's General Denning, he's in charge of the base. I'm not too sure about the men in the black suits, I think they're FBI or something. Erik should be around here somewhere...

"Ah, professor Hammond, good to meet you at last, you came highly recommended."

The Doctor spun around and found to see the youngest member of the research team. He wore a suit that looked like it had been made in the current century and had short blond hair in a crew cut.

"Nice to meet you too," said the Doctor, shaking his hand, "It's exciting to be here."

"I'm relieved to meet you professor," Erik waited for Michaud to move out of earshot, "I've worked with these guys before, all good people, but very set in their ways. It's good though have you two along, bring the average age down a little."

"A pleasure I'm sure," the Doctor stared intently at Erik's face, into his eyes, there was something strangely familiar about him, "Have we met before?"

"I don't think so, I'm, Erick, Erick van Statten. Perhaps you knew my father?"

"Or your son." the Doctor knew the van Statten family all to well.

"I doubt it, he's ten years old."

The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the final member of the analysis team, Dr. Krebs. General Denning called the room to order, he took his position on the podium.

"OK, listen up people, here's the situation. At 8:07am on the morning of June 16th a craft of alien origin was spotted in orbit above this location. At exactly 00:34 the following day the craft entered our atmosphere with a heading that would take them here. Having received no communication from the ship we assumed hostile intent and it was shot down. The bulk of the craft has been recovered and is in a hanger on this base. I'll hand you over to Erik, he's our expert on alien technology and is in charge of the recovery operation."

Denning stepped down from the podium as Erik van Statten stepped up to take his place.

"We were fortunate enough to recover the bulk of the craft as well as the recovery of three aliens. The first of these is dead, but the other two are still alive. Professor Hammond, you and your assistant will take a look at the autopsy results and examine the two surviving aliens. If you are able to communicate liaise with Dr. Michaud, the linguist, and Dr. Roberts, since maths may be a common language. Dr Krebs will examine the ship and I will coordinate and work on the ship's systems. We will be joined by two FBI observers, agent Carter and agent Nemhauser, give them full access to your findings. Good luck."

--

The scientist rose from their seats and began to file out of the room to fulfill their assignments. As he was leaving the Doctor grabbed Erik and took him to one side.

"Look this is probably beyond my clearance, but how exactly did you spot and shoot down an alien ship? I didn't think we had that kind of technology?"

Erik glanced round and then led the Doctor out of the room by his arm. They walked across the airbase, away from the disapproving ears of the superiors.

"I shouldn't be telling you this, but it's been the best work of my life. Technically speaking we shouldn't have it, but we had a little help. We had the Ooper."

"The what?"

"It came down about five years ago. It was another alien ship, nothing like what we have hear but it was just a fragment we found with the word 'ooper' written down the side. We always assumed it as some alien language, and the letters were just a coincidence, but the name stuck. I was fortunate enough to get assigned to the project. I've always been a good engineer, but I was able to make sense of this in ways that no one else could. The fragment contained two major systems, one was sensor for identifying other craft the other was the weapon. Most of the other technicians thought it was broken, but I was the one that figured out what it really did, how to make it work." he took great pride in his discovery, ignoring the fact it was a brand new way to kill and destroy, "This made my career. I was stationed here because it was acting as the ground base, if it worked then I was going to try replicate it, make it standard so we have a way of detecting and fending off alien threats. But this new ship, that opens up so many new possibilities."

--

The Doctor and Erik parted company to work on their separate assignments. Haze was waiting with the two other scientists. She sent them inside so she could have a private word with the Doctor.

"Tell me Doctor, what's going on with you and that van Statten guy? The way you looked at him, the way you reacted when you heard his name, your little chat just then, what's the deal?"

"The man's nothing to worry about, I encountered one of his descendants, oh, about sixty five years in his future, a thoroughly unpleasant man called Henry, but that's beside the point. The weapon we saw last night came from a ship. He thinks it was alien, but it wasn't. It was a human war ship, from maybe a thousand years in the future. He's reverse engineering future technology, and if he can figure it all out, which I'm sure he can, he's a very clever man, then we're in big trouble. If you have the ability to shoot down alien ships then you could declare war before you make first contact and get yourselves invaded and wiped out. The human race changes very fast, even fifty years is enough to learn some responsibility, the twenty first century is when everything changes, but right now you can't be trusted. You saw how readily they shot down an unarmed ship."

"So what do we do?"

"Appeal to the better side of Erik's nature, sabotage the weapon, I'm still working on it, but for now we need to do what we came for," the Doctors mood perked up "Lets meet the aliens."

--

They stepped into the medical building and were greeted by the bases doctor. He briefed them on the situation.

"I'll tell you what," the Doctor immediately took charge, "I'll go with Dr. Haapala here, take a look over the body, Haze, you take Michaud and Roberts with you and see what you make of the live ones."

Haze nodded and she and the two older scientists were led to the bases medical room. The aliens had been propped up in two hospital beds, one unmoving, the other looked up, acknowledging their presence. Her heart was beating faster and faster. These were the aliens described in half the abduction stories, more importantly the Roswell Grays were celebrities of the UFO spotter community. As they moved closer the conscious alien looked towards the approaching science team and spoke in a croaky voice, 'Help us.'

--

The Doctor found himself in a cold room accompanied by Dr Haapala and staring at the open corpse of the third alien. He half heatedly flipped through the autopsy notes, already being well aware the alien's physiology. As he looked into the open eyes of the alien one thought went through his mind, _I'm so sorry._

--

Haze looked round, her colleagues, neither of them nor the guards seemed phased by what had happened.

"Did you hear that?" she asked excitedly.

Michaud nodded, "It's been doing that since it came in. I haven't been able to make sense of the recording, hopefully I'll have more luck face to face."

"No, it was speaking English, I heard it, it said 'help us."

Michaud sympathetically put his hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure it sounded that way, but he really doesn't know our language. I'm sure this is all very overwhelming for you, aliens and such, but I think you'll find..."

Haze broke away and knelt by the bed. "I'm here." she said, looking into the conscious alien's eyes.

"Help us."

"Who are you, why did you come here?"

"We are Naglairey, we have been studying your world for many years. We were investigating unusually energy readings when our ship was attacked. Your people have advanced themselves far beyond our projections and we were caught off guard."

--

The Doctor's attention was distracted from the alien corpse by a loud noise. He spun round to see the heavy steel door to the cold room had been slammed shut. Dr Haapala ran towards it and began bang on it with his fists. "We're locked in."

--

"Sir, we have a serious problem."

"What is it lieutenant?" General Denning looked up from his work

"We've just received a call from the sheriff's department form a small town a about thirty miles from here. They found a car abandoned in the desert, both the driver and the passenger have been shot."

"What has this got to do with us lieutenant?"

"They checked the id's of the people in the car. They were FBI, identified as agents Carter and Nemhauser."

--

"What do you need, how can I help?" Haze took the small frail hand of the Naglairey as she spoke.

"We need to contact our fleet, to send a rescue. There is communications equipment aboard our ship, can you help us?"

"The Doctor, he can help."

Dr's Michaud and Roberts looked on in fascination as Haze conversed with the extra terrestrial, so engrossed that they missed what was going on in the room. Another figure had entered, dressed in a black suit and fedora. The first of the room guards saluted, acknowledging the presence of the man who had been introduced to him earlier as FBI agent Nemhauser. Before anyone in the room could react the false agent had drawn his revolver and fired a round into the stomach of the first guard. He quickly spun round and fired off at the second guard, catching him square in the chest. Haze and the other scientists turned to see the gun was now trained on them. The kicked the door closed and locked it with his free hand. He approached and addressed his prisoners.

"I just came for the aliens, no one believed you'd be able to communicate. But now we can't allow you to repeat anything you learn."

He turned the gun on Haze and pulled back the hammer...

End of Part Two


	3. Part 3

The Truth

By Vanya

Part 3

Dr. Haapala looked around the room, panicked. "That's the only door, there's no way out, we're trapped......"

The Doctor took him by his shoulders, "OK, calm down, I'm going to get his out of here."

He patted down his coat looking for anything useful. With the climate of the base he had left his trusty sonic screwdriver safely aboard the TARDIS, not wanting to give Erick van Statten's team any more technology to study. When his coat yielded nothing he began scanning the shelves of the cold storage room, looking for anything corrosive and explosive.

"Who are you, why are you doing this?" Staring down the barrel of a gun Haze knew that she was in no position to make demands, but also that she had nothing to loose.

"Think of us as the Amish," the false agent replied with a nasty grin, "Aliens are dangerous, so is their technology. We believe the world is much safer if people don't know what's going on. Which means no aliens, and no evidence. I like to think I'm a decent guy doing the world a great service. Tell you what," he leveled the gun at Haze, "Since I'm such a nice guy, I'll shoot you first, so you don't have to watch me do the old men and the aliens."

"A true gentleman," Haze's words dripped with sarcasm. She knew the shots must have attracted some attention, the base was crawling with guards, she had to keep him talking long enough for help to arrive. She stood to better look her attacker in the eye, "So this is your great service to the human race? You keep us safe by killing us?"

"A few humans die, the rest of the world goes in in blissful ignorance. That's the way it has to be."

"The world, you're not just domestic are you?" Haze's mind raced back to her time at Oxford, how all evidence her first sighting of an alien spaceship had been destroyed by men in black, could they all be part of the same machine?

"East, west, just points on a compass. We see the big picture, we're looking out for the entire human race. The Shadow Men are everywhe...." He stopped himself realising he'd said to much, "It doesn't matter, none of you are leaving this room alive."

As be brought his gun arm back up there was a loud crash behind him and the door flew open. The FBI impersonator turned, but a little too slow. Erik van Statten dived into the room, tackling the man and trying to wrestle his gun away from him. The weapon went off, sending a round into the ceiling before Erik was able to wrestle it out of his opponent's hands sending it skidding off to the other side of the room. But 'Nemhauser' was able to regain the upper hand, pinning van Statten and delivering a powerful blow to his face. He reached into his coat and drew a flick knife. With the blade extended he prepared to plunge it into Erick, when a pair of hands grabbed him from behind dragging him off, while simultaneously displacing a nerve, causing him to go limp and drop the knife. The Doctor reached down and pulled Erik to his feet. He surveyed the room, "Is everyone alright?"

Haze crossed the room to their savior and said, "You took your bloody time!"

The second impersonator agent, carrying identification in the name of Carter, clutched his battered leather case close to his chest has he scuttled across the base. He wasn't sure how long the ruse would last, and given his partner's tendencies, not long. His disliked being paired with a homicidal sadist, even though he understood the need for what he did, knowing full well he didn't want to do what needed to be done. This how it always worked, he handled the technology, his partner took care of the people. It was a filthy businesses, but he believed above all else that it needed to be done.

The cold room, the Doctor had reflected, was not the worst place to be trapped. He found the temperature to be quite pleasant, even thought he new this fellow prisoner seemed to be feeling the effects, and it was the perfect place to store a number of volatile chemicals. After a quick scan of the shelves he was able to prepare a concoction to take the door of its hinges. Leaving the base doctor to recuperate he sprinted to the exam room, to determine what was going on, only to find van Statten at the mercy of one of the FBI agents, but he was quickly dealt with.

"You took your bloody time!" The Doctor couldn't help be be moved by her spirit.

"Sorry, had to fight my way out of storage freezer. Could someone please explain to me what's going on?"

"We just received word that two FBI agents have been found dead thirty miles away, these men were importers." Erik was shaken, but recovering.

"He spouted off some mantra about about the dangers of aliens and their technology," Haze said, picking up the story, "He claimed to be part of something called the 'Shadow Men', mean anything to you Doctor?"

"No, they must be one of the more competent secret societies." the Doctor thought for a moment. Numerous organisations had sprung up in response aliens, but he'd never encountered one so technophobic and aggressive before.

"Right then," Haze stepped up to Erik, "There's still another one of these guys running around. Alert security and get the science team to safety. Me and the Doctor will secure these aliens."

Van Statten nodded and escorted Michaud and Roberts out of the room, leaving her and the Doctor alone.

"We need to help them, get them to their ship. They need to send a message......."

"No. There's a dangerous man out there, and quite frankly we need to let him do his job."

Haze was shocked, "What do you mean?"

"Don't you see? We have a weapon that shouldn't exist and a man who's job it is to destroy alien technology. I'm not saying it's a good situation, but if can take down the disruptor then everything goes back to the way it should be."

"But what about the Naglairey?" This caught the Doctor's full attention, "That's right, I talked to them, I know their name. They need out help Doctor. You think they'll let us walk out with them? After this crisis they'll be on full lockdown, the time to act is now while there's still confusion and chaos and the guards are distracted."

The Doctor thought for a moment, she had a point. They couldn't just sit there, it was time for action.

"Please Doctor, we need your help."

The Doctor and Haze both jumped. The wounded Naglairey had spoken for the first time since the attack, fully aware of it's only chance to escape. Shakily it got to its feet.

"Right then, lets go."

'Carter' ducked into a side building to avoid the the guards currently sweeping the base. They were heading towards the weapon, meaning he would need to detonate the charges soon, before they were discovered, but after he had put sufficient distance between himself explosion. Once the coast was clear he slipped out and headed towards the hanger where the ship was being stored.

Also sneaking towards this hanger were the Doctor, Haze and the conscious Naglairey. The route was long and slow to avoid detection in case security took issues with them transporting one of their prized aliens. The Doctor glanced round from the shed they were sheltering behind. Ideas ran through his head on how to get past the guards when it happened.

Feeling the time was right 'Carter' drew the remote control from his trench coat pocket. He extended the aerial and pressed the detonation trigger. He was very proud of his radio detonates, cutting edge, but honest to God human technology.

The explosion shook the base, guards rushed from their stations to investigate, presenting all parties with the opening they needed.

The Naglairey viewed the remains of ship, heavily damaged by the disruptor and the crash.

"The communication system has been completely removed," he explained, "But I have been able to activate a distress beacon. Others will come for me soon, until then I will place myself in a transport intermediary state....."

"Sort of half transported, stored as a signal to be picked up later." The Doctor explained.

"....... until such time that a rescue ship can arrive." He removed a small device and passed it to Haze, "Attach this to my injured comrade, it will allow the ship to pick up his signal and he will be placed into the intermediary state also."

Haze nodded and took the device, "Is there anything else?"

"That is all, we will be safe once you have done this. Thank you for your assistance."

A flash of light engulfed the alien and he was gone.

"Right then," said the Doctor, "That was pretty straight forward, if we can get the other one out of here then I'll consider today a success. In fact that was surprisingly easy, there's usually something........"

"Turn around and step away from the spaceship!"

The Doctor cringed as he turned round, "..... and there we go."

"You _had_ to say something didn't you?" muttered Haze.

"Quiet, both of you!"

They were confronted by the second Shadow Man. The false agent looked haggard and out of breath and brandished his remote control threateningly.

"OK, lets all be calm here," the Doctor raised his hands in a non threatening gesture, "Just tell us what you want."

"The ship, I need to destroy it. I heard what you said, if I blow it up I get that _thing_ as well."

"I'm not going to let that happen."

"You think I'm not serious?" he pushed back his trench coat with his free hand revealing a number of charges on his person, "I can only assume my partner failed to execute the aliens?"

"Right," Haze spoke up, "Lets all calm down and not do something we regret, you're not going to accomplish anything by blowing yourself up."

"Oh but I will. Once I press this trigger my mission is complete, every trace of aliens and their technology will be removed from this base. We win."

"No," Haze countered quickly, "There's still one alive."

"I saw the report, it's comatose."

"Not anymore."

"You're bluffing!"

"Am I?" Once again talking for her life Haze found the confidence she needed to keep up the front, "Amazing creatures really, great regenerative powers, he'll be up again in no time."

The false agent hesitated for a moment. "OK, you two are with me, we go back to the exam room. Try to run and I blow us all up. Move!"

Before they left 'Carter' primed a charge and rolled it under the ship.

A crowd of guards had surrounded the hanger, but at the sight of the charges held by the agent were forced to step back. With his two prisoners in the lead 'Carter' began to walk back towards the medical building.

"So, what now?" Haze muttered.

"The medical building was your idea." the Doctor responded in an equally hushed voice

"Exactly, it's your turn."

"Quiet!" snapped the agent and the conversation was halted.

Soon Haze found herself trapped in the exam room for a second time, this time with the Doctor and a more dangerous and unstable Shadow Man. Once they were sealed in 'Carter' surveyed to room.

"Hmm," he grunted, "You were bluffing about the alien, still no matter, we still win."

"How exactly do you 'win' when you're dead?" asked the Doctor.

"You don't get it do you? This is bigger than me, this is bigger than you, it's bigger than this base. I'm sorry," In that moment all the desperation and malice disappeared from his voice, he sounded sincere, "I really am, but this is how it has to be. This is the cause to which I have dedicated my life. Good bye."

He crossed the room to sit on the bed next to the comatose Naglairey. He closed his eyes and squeezed the trigger.

"Haze, the device!"

Haze flung the device towards the expanding fireball. As it passed into the flames it enveloped the alien and the human in a brilliant white light. They vanished the flames burned out, leaving only a could of smoke where they had been. The Doctor breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Well there you go, the rush of energy expanded the range of the device taking with it the alien and the bomber, not to mention the source of the explosion. I've often wondered if that would work."

Haze looked on in disbelief, words could not express how she felt about the Doctor's plan. After a moment she regained her composure and asked, "What about the ship?"

"Oh it'll be fine, those things are designed to last, especially the transportation system, better than a black box."

She was satisfied with the answer, the aliens were safe, they had succeeded as well as they could have hoped, the aliens were safe one Shadow Man was in custody and the other was safely removed, although she had come close to death more times than she would have liked. At that moment the door crashed open once again and the room flooded with guards. The situation was officially over.

Erik viewed the remains of his workshop. _It's gone_ he thought to himself, _my life's work, destroyed._ He'd just began work on the ship when he'd been approached by 'Carter', seemly interested on his research, keeping him occupied while he concealed a bomb in his workshop. It was so obvious now what he had been doing. Only minutes after the false agent left he received the call informing him that he was an imposter. Had he planned to detonate the charge with him still in the workshop? Probably. Erik searched the room, desperately looking for something that survived the blast. He pulled is desk aside to find the one piece of technology still in tact, a circular device the size of a hubcap with coloured lights round the edge. It was only a minor system he had concluded, most likely involved in calculating the distances the ship had travelled. Glancing around to make sure he was alone he stashed it in his own personal case, no sense in calling it in just yet. Next to it he placed notes from his own pocket, what he'd learned from the communication system. Maybe one day he's be able to make use of them.

For the next few days all personal were confined to the base for debriefing. The Doctor and Haze were forced to play their roles harder than ever, trying to convince the military team that they didn't know what happened to the Shadow Man or the aliens. It was a nerve wracking time for those who were not who they claimed to be, but with a little fast talking and a lot of luck their story won over. Once the military was satisfied the science team was broken up and each returned to where they came from, sworn to secrecy as to what happened on the airbase.

Erik van Statten sat alone in a bar in the town of Roswell while he contemplated his future. He signaled the barman for another whiskey, which he quickly knocked back. He had dedicated years of his life to this project, to the weapon and the scanning system, and now his best work had been destroyed by two lunatics with a secret agenda, enough to drive any man to drink.

"Mind if I sit here?"

"Sure thing," grunted Erik, but was shocked to see the newcomers face, "It's you!"

"Hello Erik." said the Doctor.

"Hammond? What happened to your accent? Those agents weren't the only ones who weren't who they claimed to be were they. Who are you, really?"

"It doesn't matter, but there's something I need to tell you. Get out, get away from the military. All they want you to do is to build weapons for them but you're better than that. I've seen your work Erik, you're a genius, don't waste it on weapons and death, do something good with your life."

The Doctor rose from his seat and walk towards the exit. As he left he thought about the situation, he had just set a man on the right track, but in generations to come things would go horribly wrong.

Haze McCall too sat alone, once again sitting atop the town's water tower, staring out over the desert. Soon the locals would find pieces of the ship and one of the biggest cover ups in history would begin. No one would know what really went on there, the violence and the death that occurred there. The Doctor reached the top of the tower and took a seat next to her.

"How you feeling?"

"OK," but her feeble smile failed to hide her true feelings.

The Doctor put his arm round her, and as if he was reading her mind he said, "They do get better you know, humans. Right now this is all new and they're scared of it, but they get better. In time they learn not to fear aliens and those who are different. Come on, lets take another trip in the TARDIS, there's something I want to show you."

"What's that?"

"Hope."

End


End file.
